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　　Buster Brown was a thief－and a good one, too, he thought．He’d never been caught by the police because he never took chances．He was always prepared for any unforeseen event or emergency．

　　Confidently, he stood outside the house of his intended victim(受害者)and read the sign on the front gate of the house．“Don’t worry about the dog－be aware of the owner!”it said．Buster smiled and found his way in．

　　The house looked quite normal outside, but inside it was very exotic with fascinating objects on display．As he began putting them into his bag, a dog came into the room．It stopped when it saw Buster, then wagged its tail madly and went over to him, licking his outstretched hand．“Good boy,”Buster whispered．“What a great guard dog you are－trying to lick me to death．”

　　Satisfied he’d made friends with the dog, Buster began to wander round the house, choosing items to put in his bag．His skilled eye picked out only the best antiques(古董)：a pair of silver candle olders, a silver tea-and-coffee service, etc．His new friend, the dog, sat and watched, as if wondering what was happening．

　　“Well, boy,”Buster whispered finally．“That might do．Any more and I won’t be able to carry it!”He swung the heavy bag onto his shoulders, just as the lights came on, nearly blinding him．He shielded his eyes with his hand．

　　“You’re a very silly person,”the figure in the doorway said, his voice dry as dust．As the man came closer, Buster could see he was well dressed．His face seemed familiar, but Buster couldn’t quite place where he had seen him before．

　　“You should have taken more notice of the sign outside,”the man rasped．“I knew about this attempted robbery last week and I also know you will end up behind bars(铁窗)for 20 years．Fancy trying to rob the house of the world’s greatest fortune-teller!”

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　　Many years ago, when I was fresh out of school and working in Denver, I was driving to my parents’ home in Missouri for Christmas．I stopped at a gas station(加油站)about 50 miles from Oklahoma City, where I was planning to stop and visit a friend．While I was standing in line at the cash register(收款台), I said hello to an older couple who were also paying for gas．

　　I took off, but had gone only a few miles when black smoke poured from the back of my car．I stopped and wondered what I should do．A car pulled up behind me．It was the couple I had spoken to at the gas station．They said they would take me to my friend’s．We chatted on the way into the city, and when I got out of the car, the husband gave me his business card．

　　I wrote him and his wife a thank-you note for helping me．Soon afterward, I received a Christmas present from them．Their note that came with it said that helping me had made their holidays meaningful．

　　Years later, I drove to a meeting in a nearby town in the morning．In late afternoon I returned to my car and found that I’d left the lights on all day, and the battery(电池)was dead．Then I noticed that the Friendly Ford dealership－a shop selling cars－was right next door．I walked over and found two salesmen in the showroom．

　　“Just how friendly is Friendly Ford?”I asked and explained my trouble．They quickly drove a pickup truck to my car and started it．They would accept no payment, so when I got home, I wrote them a note to say thanks．I received a letter back from one of the salesmen．No one had ever taken the time to write him and say thank you, and it meant a lot, he said．

　　“Thank you”－two powerful words．They’re easy to say and mean so much．

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　　Paula Radcliffe，chasing(角逐)a third London marathon title(冠军)，says she has become a stronger person after her terrible experience at the 2004 Athens Games．

　　Radcliffe，who failed to complete the Olympic marathon and the 10 000 m last August，said，“Athens made me a stronger person and it made me careless about criticism(批评)．”

　　“In the past I wanted to please everyone，but now I am going to listen even more to the people around me．”

　　She didn’t care about criticism made at the weekend by Liz McColgan，who felt Radcliffe should have rested and let her body recover after her failure in Athens．

　　“Liz is someone I look up to but she hasn’t spoken to me since last year and if she really cared for me，I’m sure she would have contacted(联系)me．”

　　Instead Radcliffe won the New York City marathon just 11 weeks after Athens．

　　“In New York I wasn’t in my best state but I did know I was good enough to win the race．”

　　Radcliffe insisted her only goal in Sunday’s race would be winning a third title and not chasing world records．

　　However，Radcliffe has not ruled out(排除)in the future chasing her“final”world record time and questioned sayings that marathon runners have the ability in their career to produce only four or five world-class times．

　　“I don’t think that－although I can’t put a number on it，”said Radcliffe．“That changes from person to person．”

　　Radcliffe is sure she can better her winning London 2003 performance at some point in the future．Following a successful three-month training period in the United States，the 31-year-old will chase a third title on Sunday after her first victory in 2002 and again 12 months later．

　　Radcliffe clocked a time of 2∶18∶56 in her first 42.2-kilometre race three years ago．

　　Afterwards she set a“mixed course”mark of 2∶17∶18 five months later in Chicago before lowering that to a time of 2∶15∶25 in the 2003 London event．

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Blameless

　　I was a freshman in college when I met the Whites．They were completely different from my own family, yet I felt at home with them immediately．Jane White and I became friends at school, and her family welcomed me like a long-lost cousin．

　　In my family, it was always important to place blame when anything bad happened．

　　“Who did this?”my mother would scream about a dirty kitchen．

　　“This is all your fault, Katharine,”my father would insist when the cat got out or the dishwasher broke．

　　From the time we were little, my sister, brothers and I told on each other．We set a place for blame at the dinner table．

　　But the Whites didn’t worry about who had done that．They picked up the pieces and moved on with their lives．The beauty of this was driven home to me the summer Jane died．

　　In July, the White sisters and I decided to take a car trip from their home in Florida to New York．The two older sisters, Sarah and Jane, were college students, and the youngest, Amy, had recently turned sixteen．Proud of having a new driver’s license(驾照)，Amy was excited about practicing her driving on the trip．She showed off her license to everyone she met．

　　The big sisters shared the driving of Sarah’s new car during the first part of the trip, but when they reached less ?crowded areas, they let Amy take over．Somewhere in South Carolina, we pulled off the highway to eat．After lunch, Amy got behind the wheel．She came to a crossroads with a stop sign．Whether she was nervous or just didn’t see the sign no one would ever know, but Amy continued into the crossroads without stopping．The driver of a large truck, unable to stop in time, ran into our car．

　　Jane was killed immediately．

　　I was slightly injured．The most difficult thing that I’ve ever done was to call the Whites to tell them about the accident and that Jane had died．Painful as it was for me to lose a good friend, I knew that it was far worse for them to lose a child．

　　When Mr．and Mrs．White arrived at the hospital, they found their two daughters sharing a room．Sarah had a few cuts on the head; Amy’s leg was broken．They hugged(拥抱)us all and cried tears of sadness and of joy at seeing their daughters．They wiped away the girls’ tears and made a few jokes at Amy as she learned to use her crutches(拐杖)．

　　To both of their daughters, and especially to Amy, over and over they simply said,“We’re so glad that you’re alive．”

　　I was astonished．No blame．No accusations．

　　Later, I asked the Whites why they never talked about the fact that Amy was driving and had run a stop sign．

　　Mrs．White said,“Jane’s gone, and we miss her terribly．Nothing we say or do will ever bring her back．But Amy has her whole life ahead of her．How can she lead a full and happy life if she feels we blame her for her sister’s death?”

　　They were right．Amy graduated from the University of California and got married several years ago．She works as a teacher of learning-disabled students．She’s also a mother of two little girls of her own, the oldest named Jane．

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　　A close friend of mine lives with six hundred wild animals on the Greek Island of Kyklos．Ever since he left school(where I first knew him), he has traveled all over the world collecting animals for his very own zoo．He hoped to collect at least two examples of every sort of animal on his island before the Great Flood．But the flood that my friend was afraid of, was a flood not of water, but of people．I expect you have heard of my friend：he writes books about his travels, and about the wild and wonderful animals that he collects．The money from the books helps to pay for all the food that these animals eat．

　　My friend told me that when he was out looking for water last week,(there is not enough water on island, though there is plenty all round it,)he found oil．He needs money for his travels, and for his zoo, and a little oil would buy enough water for a life-time; but he knows that if he tells anybody else about it, it will be the end of his zoo, and his life’s work．

　　So, if I know my friend, he will not tell anybody(but you and me)about what he found－because oil and water do not mix．

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　　There is one thing that everyone wants more than anything else．Some people try to get it by making money．They think that when they have enough money to buy such things as houses, farms, and cars, they will have the thing that everyone wants．

　　Other people believe that if they know enough they will find this thing．They study all their lives in search of it．Still others think that if they have power, they will find this thing．They keep telling themselves：When I am a boss, I will no longer have to search for this thing．

　　What is it that everyone wants more than anything else?What is it that all of us keep working and striving for each day?It is happiness．

　　Happiness is a strange thing．It does not mean the same to all men．What will make one man happy may not make another man happy．Some men say that happiness comes from helping others; other men say that happiness comes from making life more pleasant for everyone．What do you mean when you say：“That makes me happy．”

　　Read what different people have said about happiness．Perhaps you will learn something that will bring you peace of mind, comfort, money or it may be what you search for－happiness．

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Friends

　　Joe Bloggs always had a cigarette on his lips．He smoked while he read, while he watched TV, and while he drank a cup of coffee．He smoked forty cigarettes a day, but he was happy．

　　Joe’s friend, Fred Brown, said to him,“It is very bad to smoke．”When Joe heard this, he started to worry and became thin．So he did not buy any more cigarettes．He became so thin that he went to Fred for help．

　　Fred said,“You must eat more．”So Joe did not smoke, but he ate chocolate, and he became very fat．Again he went to Fred for help．

　　Fred said,“You must not eat chocolate．”So Joe stopped eating chocolate, but he went back to smoking cigarettes．He became thin again but he was not happy, because he still smoked．

　　Sometimes Joe Bloggs wished Fred Brown was not his friend!

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　　The Americans believe that anybody can become President of the United States．In a recent Hollywood comedy, that is exactly what happens．

　　Dave Kovic, played by Kevin Kline, is a kind-hearted man who runs a business that finds people jobs．He leads a typical American way of life, except for one thing－he looks exactly like the President, Bill Mitchell．In fact, the only thing that makes him different from the nation’s leader is that he is very nice!

　　The president has started using look-alikes during some public appearances．Dave is offered a chance to“serve his country”by becoming one．However, things go wrong．The president becomes very ill and Dave ends up acting as the president forever．

　　Director Ivan Reitman, who made the popular and successful comedies like Twins, Ghostbusters and Legal Eagles, could have gone for easy laughs by making fun of the American government．Instead, Dave is an attractive comedy about an ordinary man in extraordinary situations．Kevin Kline gives a double performance as Dave and the President, and Sigourney Weaver is at her best as his First Lady．The love story that develops between her role and Dave is a real classic．

　　The film is 100％ American．However, if you’ve ever felt that anybody could do a better job running the country than the people in power, then you’ll enjoy Dave!

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　　When the famous dancer Fred Astaire was interviewed for a job by a Hollywood producer, the movie“expert”turned him down, saying,“Can’t sing．Can’t act．Dances a little．”Here’s another stupid mistake．When the great scientist Albert Einstein was at school, his teachers considered him rather dull．And a final story, the famous Polish pianist Paderewski was told by a teacher that he’d never be a success as a performer because the middle finger on each hand was too short．

　　What lessons can be drawn from these three experiences?First, true genius cannot be suppressed．For some reason or other it works its way out．Second, early judgments of a person’s abilities may be unfair or just wrong．Third, when there is a real determination to succeed, obstacles fall by the wayside．

　　The famous motto“ad astra per aspera”can be translated as“To the stars through hardships”．Astarie, Einstein and Paderewski proved their critics wrong．

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The Great Wall of China

　　The Great Wall of China, the longest wall in the world, runs across north China like a huge dragon．It winds its way from west to east, across deserts, over mountains, through valleys, till at last it reaches the sea．It is one of the wonders of the world．And it was one of the few man-made objects on earth that could be seen by the astronauts who landed on the moon．

　　The Great Wall has a history of over twenty centuries．The first part of it was built during the Spring and Autumn Period(770 B．C．-476 B．C．)．During the Warring States Period(475 B．C．-221 B．C．), more walls were put up to defend the borders of the different kingdoms．

　　In 221 B．C．, the Kingdom of Qin united the different parts of China into one empire．To keep the enemy out of his empire．Emperor Qin Shihuang had all the walls joined up．Thus the Great Wall came into being．Since then, it has often been added to, rebuilt and repaired, especially during the Ming Dynasty(1368-1644)．

　　The Great Wall, which is called in Chinese“The Ten-Thousand-li Great Wall”, is actually more than 6000 kilometers long, 6-7 meters high and 4-5 meters wide．In most places it is wide enough for five horses or ten men to walk side by side along the top．It has great gateways which connect the main roads of north China．

　　Every few hundred meters along the wall there are watch towers, ?where soldiers used to keep watch．When the enemy came, fires were lit and at the same time guns were fired to warn soldiers at other towers．One column of smoke with one gunshot meant an enemy troop of about 100, two columns with two shots meant 500．In this way, a warning message could be sent 500 kilometers within a few hours．

　　It was very difficult to build and rebuilt such a great wall over wild and distant country without any modern machines．All the work had to be done by hand．Many people were forced to work on the wall far away from their homes．They lifted earth in baskets, passed bricks from hand to hand and dragged heavy stones with ropes over their shoulders．Their living conditions were terrible．Thousands of men died and were buried under the wall they built．The Great Wall was made not only of stone and earth, but of the flesh and blood of millions of men．

　　After the Great Wall was rebuilt hundreds of years ago, no more work was done on it until the People’s Republic of China was founded．After that, parts of the Wall were repaired．On both sides of it new cities appeared, trees were planted, and deserts became grasslands．The old Great Wall took on a new look．

　　Today the Great Wall has become a place of interest not only to the Chinese people, but also to the people from all over the world．Many of them have come to know the famous Chinese saying,“He who does not reach the Great Wall is not a true man．”

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